I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am that school’s out for the summer. See, apart from the everyday annoyances of high school, I also struggle with ADHD. Basically, it means I can’t focus even if my life — or my grades — depended on it. Now that I’m not in class, I feel like I can just be me without people always commenting about how hyper I am or how I can’t seem to finish a sentence.

I’ve heard so many people joke about getting easily distracted, saying that they have ADD too. But unless you have it, you really don’t know how debilitating and occasionally humiliating it can be. My teachers thought I was reckless until they knew, my friends thought that I just didn’t care about their feelings when I couldn’t sit still during a deep conversation, and even my ex boyfriend thought that I was cheating on him because I had trouble remembering where I was just a few nights prior. Life wasn’t simple, and I didn’t feel like the person I knew I could be.

I actually just saw a really funny episode on Take180.com about how having ADD or ADHD can really change a person, which is exactly how I felt when my symptoms first start appearing. It was an episode of their new show Electric Spoofaloo where Lord Voldemort curses Harry Potter with ADHD in an episode called “Harry Potter and the Ooh Something Shiny!”

Instead of being the really good student that he usually is, Harry now can’t focus, has too much energy for his own good and is incredibly impulsive to the point that he starts attacking girls in his class with a skeleton! Haha. It’s actually really hilarious when you see it. Anyway, it just made me think about how much ADHD or ADD can really make someone seem different. Likewise, how seeking treatment for it can help you get back to your old self.

That’s where I am now, seeking treatment. I’m hoping that my doctor can find me some medication that will calm me down and help me pay more attention to the important things in my life. It’s not so rare that they won’t be able to help me in some way. Chances are that you know someone who has ADD or ADHD and is being treated for it, too. Attention-Deficit Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder are neurobehavioral disorders that reportedly affect 7.8 percent of teens – that’s about 1 to 3 kids in a class of 30. I would have liked to have known who else was dealing with the same kinds of things I was in class, at least then I would have had a friend who understood it.

My advice is this. If you think you might have ADD or ADHD and it’s affecting your life in a way that you don’t want it to, get help. Don’t be ashamed of something you can’t control, it’s an easy fix and you’ll feel more like the real you when you’re back to your old ways. If you know someone who has one of these disorders, be their friend! Sure, it might be a little bit annoying when they go on wild tangents or fidget all the time, but they need someone who will stand by them more than you know.

For more information on ADD & ADHD

www.add-adhd.org

www.help4adhd.org

www.teenhelp.com/add-and-adhd